The second chance job
by Millie 1985
Summary: What if the Dubenich job wasn't the first time Eliot and Parker had met? What if they had loved and lost each other years ago? Could this be fate giving them a second chance?
1. So we meet again

**The second chance job**

**Summary:** What if the Dubenich job wasn't the first time Eliot and Parker had met? What if they had loved and lost each other years ago? Could this be fate giving them a second chance?

**Disclaimer: **I have seasons 1-4 of Leverage on DVD but I am afraid that is as far as my ownership of the show goes

**AN: ** I really love Leverage and all of my other stories are currently on strike, they just refuse to be written. So here is my first attempt at a Leverage story I hope you like it.

**Chapter 1**

**So we meet again**

When you live your life on the wrong side of the law you find that there are a few names that every criminal knows. Some of them belong to real life people while others are nothing more than urban legends.

Eliot Spencer had once believed that the infamous Parker fell into the second category, until she had crashed into his life 6 years ago. Now thanks to Victor Dubenich the two of them where being thrown together again.

When Dubenich had contacted Eliot and offered him a place on his one job only team he hadn't mentioned who else was on it. If the retrieval specialist had known he would be coming face to face with Parker after so many years of carefully avoiding her, he would probably said no to the whole thing.

The theft its self went better than he had ever expected it to. They had experienced a few problems but it was nothing that they couldn't handle. As much as Eliot hated to admit it the four of them -himself, Parker, the forma IYS agent Nate Ford and a hacker by the name of Hardison- made a good team, so long as they actually worked together. Saying goodbye once it was all over shouldn't have been hard but it was, it was so hard in fact that he couldn't do it.

When the four of them where meant to have gone their separate way's Eliot found himself following Parker, for a few silent minutes he thought that she hadn't noticed but when she led him into a blind alley it became clear she had known he was there the whole time

"What do you want Spencer?" she demanded as she turned to confront him

"Spencer, is that who I am now Darlin?" he said with a raised eye brow

"Eliot" Parker snapped at him "What do you want Eliot?"

"I need to talk to ya" he told her simply

"So talk" the blond sighed impatiently

"I need ya to know I would never have left ya behind back there" he informed her. Despite his declaration of every man for himself he had no intention of leaving Parker to fend for herself and he hated the thought that she might think he would actually have abandoned her in the Pierson building

"Yeah well, I would have left you in a heartbeat" she said coolly with a shrug of her shoulders

"We both know that's not true sweetheart" he smiled gently at her. He knew she didn't deal with emotions well and she liked to pretend she didn't actually have any, but he also knew that if you looked past the indifferent front she put on you would find a frightened young woman with a heart of gold. He believed that she would have done everything in her power to get both him and the geeky hacker out safely, then just pretend it was an accidental side affect of her own escape.

"Maybe your right" the tiny thief conceded with a small smile of her own

"It was good to see you again Parker" he said, admitting it to himself as much as her

"You too, Eliot" she agreed "and at least I get a goodbye this time" she almost whispered the last comment. Her softly spoken words hit Eliot with all the force of a gut punch and stole away whatever it was he had planned to say next

"Parker-"he began in a regretful tone but she stopped him with a small shake of her head.

"Let's not talk about it, I don't want to spoil this" she told him firmly "goodbye Eliot, look after yourself" she said with a genuinely warm smile before she quickly side stepped him and marched out of the alley

"Take care" Eliot called after her but she was already out of sight. "Goodbye Parker" he whispered into the empty air. He really hoped it would not be another 5 years before he saw her again, little did he know just how soon their next meeting would be.

_Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think_

_Millie 1985 _


	2. A hatred of hospitals

**The second chance job**

**Summary:** What if the Dubenich job wasn't the first time Eliot and Parker had met? What if they had loved and lost each other years ago? Could this be fate giving them a second chance?

**Disclaimer:** I have seasons 1-4 of Leverage on DVD but I am afraid that is as far as my ownership of the show goes

**AN: ** Hey guy's thank you so much for all the positive feedback, I really don't remember the last time I got such a nice reaction for a first chapter so thank you again. A lot of you wanted to know what had happened in Eliot and Parker's past and I promise you will find out, but I am trying to follow the shows example and give you a snippet here and there, I am afraid this means you have a bit of a wait but hopefully not to long of a one. Anyway on with the chapter I hope you like it.

**Chapter 2**

**A hatred of hospitals**

The next time Eliot saw Parker he couldn't find a trace of the girl he had once known in the woman before him. She had a gun in her hand and an unforgiving look in her eyes but he noticed she kept the gun trained on the other two members of the team. It hurt that she didn't trust him anymore, she wouldn't have bought the gun if she did (she would have stood behind him like she always had before) but at least she wasn't prepared to shoot him.

Eliot was only seconds behind Nate in figuring out they had been set up and he was relieved to see that Parker was already on the move. A lot had changed in 5 years but the girl was still as sharp as a tack.

When the hacker went down on the stairs Eliot hauled him to feet without breaking his stride he had not saved the guys neck last night just to see him go up in smoke today, it was purely professional pride that made Eliot save him again, he did not in any way shape or form like the overly talkative kid, at least that was what he told himself as he shoved the younger man under the slowly rising steel door.

When Dubenich withheld their payment he made a big mistake, when he tried to kill them he made a stupid one. Eliot never took it too well when someone tried to blow him up but he accepted it as unpleasant fallout from what he did as a job and moved on. When someone was foolish enough to try and hurt Parker, Eliot began to plan slow and painful retribution for them. Dubenich was going to pay as soon as Eliot could get out of the damn hospital and get his hands on him.

While chained up in the white clinical room plan after plan raced through Eliot's mind, all of them had 1 main objective, to get both him and Parker out safely. Sadly every single one of his plans ended with him fighting his way past the sheriff and his men. Eliot really didn't like hitting cops but sometimes he didn't have a choice.

"I can take these cops" he informed the others who where all just as peeved at the situation as he was

"Don't you dare" came Parker's sharp reply a second later "you kill anyone you screw up my get away" she added hastily but he knew it was just for Nate and Hardison's benefit. They both knew what Parker really meant was "don't you dare make me watch you kill someone, not again I can't take it" and It broke Eliot's heart

Ever since he had been handcuffed to the uncomfortable hospital chair Eliot had been wishing he was sharing a room with Parker instead of Nate but now he was wishing it harder that he had ever wished for anything in his life. He desperately wanted to see her face, he needed to know if the tiny tremble of fear -that only- he heard in her voice could be seen in her beautiful eyes, he had always been able to read her no matter how hard she tried to hide what she was feeling.

A rush of unwanted memories flashed through his mind, he remembered every emotion he had ever seen in those eyes. They ranged from pure joy to complete horror and sadly it was the last one that had stayed with him, he carried the memory of that look with him every day as he strove never to see it again.

Eliot wanted so badly to tell Parker he wasn't the man she seemed to think he was, not anymore but he didn't get the chance. Nate Ford was once again stepping into the role of mastermind and coming up with a plan to get them all out. Eliot would have preferred if Parker didn't have to empty her stomach for it work, he would also have preferred it if she still trusted him but she had made it clear she didn't and he could handle that so long as the plan worked and she was safe.

Just like the Pierson theft getting out of the hospital and police custody was almost too easy when they stopped arguing long enough to work together. Eliot really did like how smoothly things ran when they worked as a team. What he didn't like was the idea of running and hiding (particularly if he couldn't take Parker with him) but as they made their way to Hardison's so they could do just that he had to admit he saw no other option. Lucky for all of them Nate did.

_Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think_

_Millie 1985 _


	3. Rooftop chats

**The second chance job**

**Summary:** What if the Dubenich job wasn't the first time Eliot and Parker had met? What if they had loved and lost each other years ago? Could this be fate giving them a second chance?

**Disclaimer:** I have seasons 1-4 of Leverage on DVD but I am afraid that is as far as my ownership of the show goes

**AN 1: ** Hey guys, I just want to thank you so much for all the lovely feedback I got as well as the favourites and story alerts. I hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it, now on with the show

**Chapter 3**

**Rooftop chats**

Running a con on Dubenich was not how Eliot would have liked to get his revenge, (he would have preferred a much more hands on approach) but it was pretty much the only choice they had and truth be told Nate's plan was a good one.

The only problem Eliot could see was that a large part of the con was resting on the shoulders of the teams newest member, Sophie Deveraux . The brunet was as charming as she was gorgeous but sadly she couldn't act her way out of a paper bag, Eliot had pointed this fact out to Nate but the mastermind had just flashed him a smile and mumbled a "You'll see" before carrying on as if nothing had been said

Eliot was happy enough to go along with Nate's choice in grifter if only for the eye candy she provided. It was fun to exchange flirty banter with her during their planning session. A small part of him had hoped it would provoke some kind of reaction from Parker but she was too engrossed in plotting their revenge to even notice, Nate on the other hand had spent half an hour trying to glair Eliot to death.

Their plan fell into place relatively quickly, they each had knowledge that they could contribute and they each had a role to play. Eliot was once again struck by just how well they all worked together; he was also impressed at how quickly the team's dynamic had shifted to include Sophie. He could only hope that the con went as well as the planning had, he also prayed Nate had picked a grifter that could actually grift and not just one that he lusted after.

He needn't have worried; the mastermind knew exactly what he was doing. To say Sophie was a revelation would have been the understatement of the century, the woman deserved an Oscar for the way she hooked Dubenich. She was beyond amazing and Eliot found himself wishing he had half her talent, he wasn't a bad grifter but he wasn't on Sophie's level either. He was glad to say that his own grift went well he would have hated to be the one to let the side down.

Parker and Hardison also preformed their roles perfectly. The thief was in and out of Dubenich's office so fast that Eliot might have missed her, had she not paused to shoot him a mocking glance as she entered. While the hacker managed to make it look like Eliot actually knew what he was doing with the computer

With the con itself going so well, Eliot had not anticipated any turbulence between the members of the team but he had somehow forgotten one very important thing, Nate Ford was an honest man and therefore felt he was above the rest of them. He had not expected a friendly game of pool to turn into a standoff between him and the ex insurance agent but when the subject of Nate's son had come up that was just what had happened.

It took a lot of control for Eliot to calmly walk away after his parting shot rather than storming out like he wanted to. That man really knew how to get under your skin; he could make even the most serene of people feel like a caged animal.

Before Eliot knew it he found himself on the roof of Hardison's apartment, he had slammed the access door behind him before he realized he wasn't alone.

Parker was sitting with her legs hanging over the edge of the building. Eliot had noticed when she took off abandoning her huge box of locks in the main room; he should have suspected that this was where she would have ended up

"You know for a ninja you are really loud sometimes, sparkie" she grinned at him from her perch

"How many times do I got ta tell ya, I ain't no ninja" he sighed as he approached her

The blond seemed to genuinely consider his question before answering "Just carry on telling me and I'll tell you when I believe it" she told him brightly

For a moment Eliot felt like they had slipped back in time. He could have sat down beside her and spent all night watching the stars like they had so many times before but he couldn't, as much as he wanted to he really couldn't.

"Parker we need ta talk" he said taking a seat next to her

"We are doing a lot of that lately" she commented in a resigned tone

"Back at the hospital when I said I could take the cops did ya really think I was gonna kill em?" he asked softly

"What else was I meant to think Eliot; I know what you're capable of" Parker sighed all of her earlier cheer leaving her

"Parker-" Eliot began sadly, he was desperately trying to find the words to tell her he had changed more than she could know but they just wouldn't come to him. "I never wanted you to know Parker" he breathed out "When I met ya it was meant ta be over" he admitted to her

"But it wasn't, was it" Parker pointed out sounding irritated

"Ya were meant ta stay in New York" he snapped at her

"And you where meant to be in Kentucky but you weren't" she hissed at him "you were in Paris, you were in Paris to kill a man and I-"

"Saw" Eliot cut in all the fight going out of him "god, Parker I wish you hadn't been there" he told her sadly.

He remembered that night so clearly. The night he had done his very last job for Damien Moreau, the job that was meant to set him free. It was meant to be the start of a new life for him and Parker but when she stumbled out of his target's closet with an arm full of jewels, just after he had finished the job, he knew she had seen everything and their fresh start had turned into the end.

"But I was Eliot, and what I saw scared me" she admitted softly "but I wasn't the one that ran away, that was you Eliot" she reminded him

"Parker-" Eliot sighed sadly

"This is why I didn't want to talk about this" Parker told him firmly as she climbed to her feet and moved away from the edge "it hurts and it makes me angry, then you get all sad. I don't like us feeling like that"

"Neither do I darlin" Eliot agreed

"So can we just forget it?" she suggested hopefully

"You want us to forget a year of our lives?" he asked her in disbelief as he got to his feet and followed her

"Yes, can we?" she pressed

"No Parker we can't" he told her quickly getting worked up again "real life doesn't work like that, you can't just get a do over" he snapped at her

"Yes you can" she insisted then as if to prove it she smiled and reintroduced herself "Hi I'm Parker and I'm thief" she stuck her hand out for him to shake "actually I'm the best thief in the world" she finished with a smile

Eliot just stood there looking at her like she had grown a second head. He couldn't believe her, he knew things between them had ended badly but he would rather lose a limb than forget their time together.

Eliot Spencer had always considered himself a strong and capable man but right now he couldn't handle the situation he found himself in. So he turned on his heels and marched back inside he didn't have any plan other than putting as much distance between him and Parker as he possibly could.

_AN 2: Hi again everyone, just a quick question am I getting Eliot's accent right? If not and you have any tips on how to fix it please throw it at me. _

_Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think_

_Millie 1985 _


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